Coral Discoverer: Kimberley Cruise

11 Day Tour

Coral Discoverer offers the ultimate in adventure style cruising for the discerning traveller and delivers a Kimberley cruising experience never to be forgotten. Launched in 2005 and re-furbished in November 2016, Coral Discoverer’s design, amenities and facilities are comparable to larger cruise vessels. Her shallow draught and manoeuvrability allow her to go where larger vessels cannot.

The “Explorer” is a specially designed aluminium excursion vessel used for most excursions. Accommodating all passengers at one time, “Explorer” is conveniently equipped with an awning and toilet. Featuring high horsepower engines, “Explorer” is used for landings and for extensive exploration of rivers and tributaries. Boarding is directly from the ship’s main deck, where a hydraulic platform gently lowers you into the water.

Limited wireless internet available. Service quality may vary on location and weather
Sun Deck with sun lounges, shade cover and cabana area
Three fully stocked cocktail bars, including brand new round Explorer Bar on Sun Deck
Spacious, modern dining room, recently refurbished
Forward lounge
Reference library
Gift shop
Open bridge
Limited laundry facilities available, cabins serviced daily
Australian flagged, and staffed entirely by an Australian and New Zealand crew

Cruise Details

Perfected over three decades, this 10-night Kimberley cruise takes you on an unforgettable journey from Darwin to Broome. Expert guides interpret ancient rock art, and retrace the history of Phillip Parker King who first charted this spectacular coastline almost 200 years ago. Later in the season, witness the Humpback Whales on their migration.

Board a Zodiac and touch the spray from the magnificent King George River and its towering 80-metre twin falls. Join an expert guide to learn about the history of the ancient Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock paintings. Witness waterfalls cascading off Montgomery Reef as it rises out of the ocean on the ebbing tide, whilst discovering the reef’s diverse marine life.

Expedition Highlights

Experience the thrill of riding the Horizontal Falls in inflatable Zodiac tender vessels
Get up close to Montgomery Reef and discover the tidal reef’s diverse marine life
Experience King George River and 80m tall twin King George Waterfalls
Cruise the Prince Regent River to the ‘hanging garden’ King Cascades waterfall
Visit Indigenous rock art galleries and learn about ancient Wandjina and Gwion Gwion art
Spot native wildlife and birdlife in their natural habitat
View the Kimberley landscape by air on a scenic helicopter flight to Mitchell Falls (additional cost)
Enjoy sunset canapes and drinks on the beach as dusk settles over the Kimberley

Reverse Destination Option Available

Accommodation

All outside-facing guest cabins with en-suite bathrooms; the majority have a private balcony
Active stabilisers to dampen sea motion
Well-equipped gym
Passenger elevator
Wi-Fi available in all guest areas
Navigator lounge in the bridge
Over 1000 square metres of open deck space including a wrap-around promenade deck with panoramic views
Engine room tours and a high level of crew interaction with guests

Bridge Balcony Stateroom

Located on the exclusive Bridge Deck close to the Lounge and Bridge, these six spacious Bridge Deck staterooms are 17 – 18 sqm (180-195 square feet) in size and feature picture windows for expansive ocean views, along with a sofa, desk, telephone and your choice of Junior King or twin bedding. Bridge Deck Staterooms offer guests private balconies opening out from french windows providing comfortable indoor outdoor living.

*Please note: You can request to have a particular cabin number. Cabins are allocated on booking, but only confirmed 30 days prior to travel. Room Request allocations are not guaranteed.

Main Deck – Category A Staterooms

Located close to the Dining Room, these six spacious staterooms are approx. 18sqm (195 square feet) in size and feature large, twin porthole windows along with a desk, sofa, telephone and your choice of Junior King or twin bedding.

Main Deck – Category A Staterooms

*Please note: You can request to have a particular cabin number. Cabins are allocated on booking, but only confirmed 30 days prior to travel. Room Request allocations are not guaranteed.

Promenade Deck – Category A Staterooms

Encircled by a full-ship promenade (not accessible from your stateroom), these staterooms are approx.. 16 – 17.5 sqm (172 – 190 square feet) in size and feature picture windows for expansive ocean views along with a sofa, desk, telephone and your choice of Junior King or twin bedding.

Promenade Deck – Category B Staterooms

Located in the bow of the ship and encircled by a full-ship promenade (not accessible from your stateroom), these two staterooms are approx. 13 sqm (137 square feet) in size and feature picture windows for expansive ocean views along with a desk, telephone and Junior King bedding.

*Please note: You can request to have a particular cabin number. Cabins are allocated on booking, but only confirmed 30 days prior to travel. Room Request allocations are not guaranteed.

Cuisine

On your trip you will savour small batch, modern-Australian cuisine created by your talented chefs using fresh, locally sourced produce. The small size of the ship enables Coral Discoverer to make last minute changes based on what is available locally. The Dining Rooms offer open-seat dining without the need to reserve a table, allowing you to dine with old or new friends on each occasion.

The cocktail bars and lounges are fully stocked with a selection of Australian and New Zealand wines, beers and a variety of artisan spirits, soft drinks and juices. Complimentary tea and barista style coffee are available 24 hours a day.

Destination : Broome
Departure : Darwin
Dress Code : Casual, Summer

Included:

Accommodation
National park fees
Meals
Non-alcoholic beverages
Services of staff
Shore excursions by tender boat
Coffee & tea

Not Included:

Alcoholic beverages
Flights to/from your cruise
Souvenirs on board
Optional extra helicopter flights

Depart Darwin

Board your Coral Expeditions ship at 8.00am where there is time to settle into your cabin before our 9:00am departure. Spend a luxuriant sea day at leisure as we cruise across Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and sail into Western Australian waters. Take the time to become acquainted with all the facilities onboard and join our Expedition Team in the Lounge for an insightful introduction to the Kimberley. As dusk falls meet your fellow travellers, the Captain and crew for the Captain’s Welcome Drinks
King George River & Falls

Fed by the King George River draining across the Gardner Plateau, 80m tall King George Falls are the most impressive Kimberley waterfalls and the highest twin falls in Western Australia. Before reaching the mist-like spray rising from the base of King George Falls, we cruise through steep-sided gorges carved by a flooded river system that carved a swathe through the Kimberley landscape. Early in the waterfall season, we may cruise around the base of impressive King George Falls while in later months we take the opportunity to view the honeycomb erosion patterns of sandstone cliffs up close. As our incredible Kimberley adventure draws to a close, on our last evening aboard we enjoy the Captain’s farewell drinks among new-found friends.
Vansittart Bay

Vansittart Bay is home to many cultural and historically significant sites like the remarkable Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) Aboriginal rock art galleries. Jar Island is so-named after the pot shards found here, brought to the island by Macassan fisherman harvesting sea cucumbers (also known as trepang). Nearby, on the Anjo Peninsula lays the well-preserved wreckage of a US Airforce C-53 Skytrooper aircraft, the result of a pilot losing his bearings flying from Perth to Broome in 1942 and putting down on a salt pan near present-day Truscott Airbase.
Mitchell Falls, Winyalkan & Swift Bay

Tumbling down the Mitchell Plateau in a series of tiered waterfalls and emerald green rock pools, the Mitchell Falls are the photogenic poster child for the Mitchell River National Park. Take a scenic helicopter flight (additional cost) to multi-tiered Mitchell Falls where emerald-hued rock pools cascade down the escarpment and ancient rock art galleries are concealed in caves behind curtains of water. Mitchell River National Park is inhabited by significant numbers of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and bird species which are lured by a year-round water source. Sandstone terraces beside tiered rock pools make a terrific viewing platform from which to savor the serenity of this ancient landscape. An alternative option to Mitchell Falls is exploring the sandstone caves of Hathway’s Hideaway. This mass of weathered tunnels, arches and columns form a labyrinth-like maze and was once an Aboriginal midden. Another option while anchored at Winyalkan Bay is a visit to a series Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock art galleries at Swift Bay. In the evening we will enjoy watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean while indulging in a gourmet BBQ.
Prince Frederick Harbour

Prince Frederick Harbour is one of the Kimberley’s most spectacular locations at the southern end of York Sound. The harbour is dotted with islands lined with mangroves and monsoon rainforests, set against a backdrop of the ochre-hued escarpment. White-bellied sea eagles and other birds of prey are often seen here, and at low tide, expansive mudflats reveal large populations of mudskippers and mangrove crabs. We will take our Xplorer tender vessels on a cruise up Porosus Creek to view some striking rock formations.
Price Regent River & Careening Bay

King Cascade is a classically beautiful terraced waterfall and is one of the most photographed waterfalls on the Kimberley coast. Falling from a considerable height and around 50m across, water tumbles down a staggered terrace of Kimberley sandstone. Layer upon layer of ochre-hued and blackened rock sprouts grasses, mosses and ferns in a sort of lushly vegetated hanging garden. We reach King Cascade after cruising in our Xplorer tender vessels down the steep-sided Prince Regent River which is a remarkable anomaly as the river runs dead straight along a fault line. Lt. Philip Parker King named nearby Careening Bay after he beached his leaking vessel HMC Mermaid to effect repairs. While stranded on this remote coastline for 17 days the ship’s carpenter carved HMC Mermaid 1820 into the trunk of a boab tree near the beach and recorded the girth of the tree in the ship log- 6.6 metres. 200 years later, the Mermaid Boab Tree sports a mammoth girth of over 12m. Significantly, the bulbous tree is listed on the National Register of Big Trees and the carpenter’s careful inscription now stands almost as tall as a person.
Montgomery Reef

Montgomery Reef is a biologically diverse area covering over 300 sq km and was named by Phillip Parker King. Twice daily, as the sea recedes in mammoth 11m tides, Montgomery Reef rises from the Indian Ocean in a cascade of rushing water revealing a flat-topped reef pockmarked with rock pools and rivulets. As the reef emerges, we get up close in our Xplorer and Zodiac inflatable tenders to witness the spectacle as our Expedition Team share their knowledge on the formation of the reef and the myriad wildlife. Opportunistic birds take advantage of the emerging reef, feeding on marine life left exposed in rock pools. Turtles, dolphins, dugongs and sawfish too are also attracted to feeding opportunities as the ocean recedes. The ocean is awash in a swirl of eddies and whirlpools as the moon’s gravitational force takes hold. Then, a few hours later the entire water-borne drama is reversed as the tide comes in and Montgomery Reef disappears below sea level.
Doubtful Bay

Raft Point guards the entrance to Doubtful Bay, a vast body of sheltered water which harbours significant sites such as the ancient Wandjina rock art galleries located a short walk from the beach and are considered some of the finest in the Kimberley and we visit the rock art galleries when traditional owners are available to guide us. Doubtful Bay is the traditional country of the Worrora people who follow the Wandjina, their spirit god and law-maker. Images of Wandjina are found throughout the Kimberley, recording their stories, knowledge and culture in stone. Red Cone Creek flows gently downstream until it meets the small but impressive Ruby Falls. Named by local mariner Capt. Chris Trucker after his daughter, Red Cone Creek is carved through rock formations stacked atop each other like building blocks. These rock walls are great for climbing and clambering over before reaching a series of freshwater swimming holes and waterfalls. The falls may be a gurgling torrent or a gentle trickle, depending on the time of the year. Other sites we aim to visit in Doubtful Bay include the mighty Sale River and Steep Island.
Horizontal Falls & Buccaneer Archipelago

The Horizontal Falls are one of the Kimberley’s biggest attractions and are a result of the mammoth 11m tides the Kimberley is renowned for. Naturalist David Attenborough described the Horizontal Falls as ‘one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.’ The Horizontal Falls are created as the ocean thunders through a narrow gorge in the McLarty Ranges. Water builds up on one side and is forcibly pushed through the bottleneck, creating a rushing horizontal waterfall of swiftly flowing seawater. Riding the rapids on our Zodiac inflatable tenders is one of the highlights of our Kimberley expedition cruises. Talbot Bay is at the heart of the Buccaneer Archipelago, where rocks on the 800 or so islands are estimated at over 2 billion years old. At Cyclone Creek, you will see evidence of massive geological forces in the impressive rock formations and cruise through the Iron Islands, past Koolan Island, before enjoying sunset drinks at Nares Point.
The Lacepede Islands

The Lacepede Islands are a protected class-A nature reserve and are significant as a seabird nesting rookery for brown boobies and roseate terns. Other species often sighted at the Lacepedes include Australian Pelicans, frigate birds, egrets and gulls. The four low-lying islands are also an important breeding and nesting habitat for green turtles. If weather and tide conditions are suitable, we will explore the lagoons by Xplorer and Zodiac tender vessels. As our incredible Kimberley adventures draw to a close, on our last evening aboard we enjoy the Captain’s farewell drinks amongst new-found friends.
Arrive in Broome

Our incredible adventure along the Kimberley Coast concludes in Broome this morning at 8:00am. Bid farewell to new-found friends, the Captain and crew. A post-cruise transfer to Broome CBD or Airport is included. If you’re not transferring directly to the airport why not spend the day visiting world-famous Cable Beach or stroll the historic streets of Chinatown in central Broome.

Pricing

2023

Rooms	Twin Share	2023 Shoulder Season, Apr, Aug, Sep Shoulder Twin Share
Main Deck Category A Stateroom	$15,300 pp	$13,600 pp
Main Deck Category B Stateroom	$14,100 pp	$12,540 pp
Promenade Deck Category A Stateroom	$17,740 pp	$15,800 pp
Promenade Deck Category B Stateroom	$15,900 pp	$14,130 pp
Bridge Deck Balcony Stateroom	$22,050 pp	$19,650 pp

2024

Rooms	Twin Share	2023 Shoulder Season, Apr, Aug, Sep Shoulder Twin Share
Main Deck Category A Stateroom	$15,590 pp	$13,860 pp
Main Deck Category B Stateroom	$14,370 pp	$12,780 pp
Promenade Deck Category A Stateroom	$18,090 pp	$16,100 pp
Promenade Deck Category B Stateroom	$16,210 pp	$14,410 pp
Bridge Deck Balcony Stateroom	$22,480 pp	$20,030 pp

Single Travellers *:
Limited sole use occupancy available in Prom B staterooms

Cruise Fare Includes:
Traditional Owners’ Fee, Meals; Shore excursions by tender boat; Crew; Services of expedition staff including lectures, briefings, slide/film presentations, and other group activities; 24 hour tea/coffee station. Beer / wine with dinner.

Not Included:
Scenic helicopter flights, flights before or after the cruise

Cruise Dates

4 – 14 Apr 2023	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
24 Apr – 4 May 2023	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
5 – 15 May 2023	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
15 – 25 May 2023	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
26 May – 5 Jun 2023	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
5 – 15 Jun 2023	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
16 – 26 Jun 2023	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
26 Jun – 6 Jul 2023	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
7 – 17 Jul 2023	10 Nights Darwin- Broome
17 – 27 Jul 2023	10 Nights Broome- Darwin
28 Jul – 7 Aug 2023	10 Nights Darwin- Broome
7 – 17 Aug 2023	10 Nights Broome- Darwin
18 – 28 Aug 2023	10 Nights Darwin- Broome

12- 22 Apr 2024	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
22 Apr – 2 May 2024	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
3 – 13 May 2024	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
13 – 23 May 2024	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
24 May – 3 Jun 2024	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
3 – 13 Jun 2024	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
14 – 24 Jun 2024	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
24 Jun – 4 Jul 2024	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
5 – 15 Jul 2024	10 Nights Darwin- Broome
15 – 25 Jul 2024	10 Nights Broome- Darwin
26 Jul – 4 Aug 2024	10 Nights Darwin- Broome
5 – 15 Aug 2024	10 Nights Broome- Darwin
16 – 26 Aug 2024	10 Nights Darwin- Broome

26 Aug – 5 Sep 2024	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
6 – 16 Sep 2024	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
28 Sep- Oct 2024	10 Nights Broome – Darwin